I Like You, Natsume-oniisan

Chapter 26: Runo's Concert

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome Runo, our favourite star, on stage!"

The audience roared and cheered as they held up their light sticks and shook them vigourously. As the lights of the concert hall dimmed, a dark figure emerged from behind the red curtain and a spotlight flashed onto the figure.

That figure was none other than the famous teenage singer, Runo.

The brunette waved his hands and said, "Good afternoon, people! Thanks for coming all the way to attend this afternoon's concert. I'm very touched and ecstatic to see you, my fans, again."

Everyone clapped and shouted his name over and over again. Hotaru kept taking pictures of Runo as this was her first time seeing him on live. In fact, it was also Mikan's first time seeing Runo on live. Mikan was not really a crazy fan of him but she just liked his voice. Instead of shouting his name or jumping up and down like an excited fan, she was eating prawn crackers which Hotaru had bought earlier. Well, it was also partially due to her leg injury.

"Anna-chan and Nonoko-chan came too!" Mikan exclaimed and shook Hotaru's shoulders. "Look! Look! They are standing near the rear!"

"Stop it, stupid. Can't you see that I am taking pictures?" Hotaru grunted and slapped Mikan's hand.

"Let's call out to them!"

"Has your brain break down from all the thought processes for the past weeks? Everyone is shouting and screaming and you think you can call out to them when you are standing about ten metres away from them. Dream on, girl."

"Now, I will sing 'Black Carol'," Runo announced and everyone screamed loudly again.

That song was one of his latest singles and it was the first pop song he had ever sung. He used to be famous for his classical and classical rock songs but when this single came out, he gained more popularity than before. So, this song was one of the biggest hits of all times.

"It's Black Carol! It's a creepy but sad song, right?" Mikan asked Hotaru.

"Yes, it is. If I'm not wrong, this song is based on a true story. It's about a boy whose girlfriend had died in a train explosion because of a terrorist attack. However, the boy didn't know a thing about it as he was still studying overseas. A few days after the explosion which was so happened to be on Christmas Eve, he met his girlfriend on his way back home, telling him that she had to leave him. He misunderstood the message and thought that she had left him for another man. He was very angry about the 'break-up' and never called back home after that. After five years, he had a new family and finally returned back to his hometown to meet his parents on Christmas Eve. From then on, he knew about the terrorist attack which took place five years ago and that girl whom he vowed to marry after his studies had died in that terrible explosion. He was so shocked and broke into tears. He wished he could go back in time and give her spirit a final hug. He also wished he had understood her message five years ago but it was already too late."

After hearing this, Mikan was already weeping and was totally unaware that the song had started not too long ago. By the time Mikan calmed down, the song had already come to the end. She did listen to the song but did not have a chance to cheer like the other fans.

"The next song I will be singing is 'Youthful Spirit'!" Runo shouted enthusiastically through the microphone. "Don't forget to show me your youthful spirits too!"

The screams got even louder and some obsessed fans threw their light sticks up high to show how lively and excited they were. Two light sticks fell into Hotaru's head and she got so mad about it that she snatched a plastic flat fan with a picture of Runo's face printed on it from the person next to her and flung it high in the air like she was throwing a frisbee. Much to her amazement, that fan did spin like one too.

The song started and ended after five minutes, followed by an intermission whereby a group of comedians took the stage while Runo returned to the backstage. Many audience had expected those comedians to perform on stage as they would always perform in Runo's concerts. Furthermore, they would always be one of Runo's concert sponsors. Though it was Hotaru's first time going to Runo's concert, she also knew that those comedians would definitely come and perform. By the way, those comedians were her favourites as they usually appeared in her favourite variety or comedy shows. She knew she would never regret for attending this concert.

"Hotaru, I have to go to the restroom," Mikan suddenly said. "I will be right back."

Hotaru turned to Mikan and asked, "Do you need me to follow you? Your leg..."

"Ah! It's all right! I can go there myself. Furthermore, those comedians are her favourites, right? You can't miss this opportunity to see them on live!" Mikan laughed and walked away.

Hotaru looked at Mikan worriedly but she tried to reassure herself that Mikan would surely call her if anything went wrong. Soon, she diverted her attention back to the comedians.

After five minutes had passed, Mikan was still looking for the ladies' restroom. There was no sign in the building showing where the restroom was. She felt like complaining to the organisers that they should seriously place or hang some signs to lead people to the restrooms unless there was no restroom in this building.

Just then, she saw a lady walked past her while wiping her hands with a handkerchief.

"Excuse me, Ma'am!" Mikan called out, catching the lady's attention. "Do you know where the ladies' restroom is?"

The lady shrugged and walked away without saying a word.

What kind of attitude was that?

Mikan grumbled to herself and walked ahead slowly. She made many turns and walked round and round the different levels of the buildings. Finally, she found the ladies' restroom. She heaved a sigh of relief because she could take a rest from walking for a short while. After doing her business, she walked out of the restroom and looked around her.

"Where did I come from earlier?" she asked herself.

She could not remember which route she took to get to the restroom. Neither could she remember how to return to the concert hall!

"Seriously, where are the stupid signs?" Mikan shrieked and waved her arms in mid air like an angry old woman.

"Ruka-kun, another ten more minutes," there was a male voice coming from a room.

"Okay, Anju-san. Did you see that flat fan earlier? It was flying like a frisbee. I didn't know that this has also become a trend for fans to cheer for their idols," a fairly familiar voice laughed which also came from the room.

Mikan was puzzled. Did she just hear 'Ruka-kun'? What was Ruka doing down here? Did he come here as well?

Mikan smacked her cheeks. There was no way Ruka would be here since he was not a fan of Runo. Anyway, there were so many people with the name 'Ruka'. So, it might be just a coincidence.

However, that voice sounded a little like Ruka. The way Ruka laughed was similar to the one she had just heard.

As she walked towards the room, she realised that the room had a piece of paper pasted on the door. It was written like this: Only for Authorities.

Whether Ruka was inside the room or not, she still had to find her way back to the hall.

She knocked on the door and the person who sounded like Ruka said, "Please come in."

Mikan slowly opened the door and greeted, "Hello, I'm lost and I..."

Her mouth was left hanging as she saw two men standing before her. One of them was a blonde in suit while the other was Runo himself. Worst of all, Runo was pulling his hair and a huge bunch of hair just came out easily, as if he was wearing a wig. His hair was no longer brown but was yellow in colour.

Runo stared back at her with a very shocked look portrayed on his face. It seemed as though he was totally in a lost for words.

"Miss, are you lost?" the blonde in suit asked Mikan but she was too focused on Runo who was standing in front of her.

Mikan rubbed her eyes and took another look at him again. This time, she saw him trying to tug the brown wig back on his head.

What was going on?

Everything was making her even more confused than before. It did not make any sense either.

With a small drop of sweat rolling down her forehead, Mikan stammered loudly, "Ru... Ru... Ruka-pyon?"

Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 26.

Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 25. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D

Here are the reviewers:

- nerdyanime123
- NanaShinozaki
- Amu Sakura Mae
- sinables
- mooshy3712
- Scarlet Ammo 19
- Kuro Karasu Onna
- ACuteChibiAngel
- Rae-chan179
- HQ-pyon
- Coldheart12
- Natsume Reo
- AnimeMango
- TsuragaKyoko
- Sariko-chan723
- aurora0914
- Sia
- Manga Ren
- curo neko
- lisaOpine

Lastly, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. :)

And don't forget to leave a review! Thanks! :)